I'm jealous.
I'm not jealous at his Guitar Hero skills (see video below); bravo at being completely awesome at tearing up the leader boards. I'm jealous that he gets money for essentially getting over 2,000,000 hits on a YouTube video. Yeah, the movie has only been out since Jun. 3rd, but still, it's not fair. I'm allowed to whine right?
Chris even had a New York Times article written all about him. And boy, they love the kid. Chris is normal kid, and a good student, who just happens to pwn in Guitar Hero. He doesn't play a musical instrument and he's not obsessive about his game playing. Actually, just looking at a picture of him, he looks like a cool guy.
He doesn't fit the stereotypical game type. You know, the boy who is overweight and sits at home playing video games all day will no social skills whatsoever. Some gamers fit that stereotype. Most don't. I guess it's reassuring that one of the faces of gamers actually has a decent looking face. Chris Chike can be one of those people that break the false perception of gamers.
Chike himself however, had an eyebrow raising quote that was buried deep into the article.
Straight from the New York Times articled linked before: "When a new person will come around," Chris said, "my friends will be like, 'Hey, did you know this is the No. 1 kid in the world at Guitar Hero?' And I'm like —— " He hid his head in his hands. "That's not what I want to first tell people when I meet them."
My initial reaction is, well, why not? Getting #1 ranking in anything is a high feat, especially since the leader board is global. Hell, I would tell people I won a gold medal if I had one. I wish I could ask Chike what he meant by that statement, because left as is, it’s a little insulting to the gamer community.
Maybe I'm just being nitpicky, but the quote sounds as though Chike is embarrassed to the best at a certain video game. Does he worry that he will be labeled as a geek, or a nerd? Does he worry that his current status as Guitar Hero Master will prevent him from picking up chicks? By being shy about his skills, he might be adding to the fire that being a gamer is looked down upon.
I admit that I could be taking this too far. It’s possible that he just wants to be known for his other features, aside from his magical hyper-fast hands. If he just wants to avoid being labeled into one title, I can respect that choice.
I am surely not the voice of reason, but I don't think I'm being too outlandish when I say that if you are a gamer, you should embrace that distinction. No one is less cool because they play video games. In general, video games are fun, engaging and can be great activities in social situations. I only hope that gamers, including Chris Chike, realize that they are as awesome as anyone else.
Photos: [1], [2]
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